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- 📊 The Importance of Cattle Recordkeeping
📊 The Importance of Cattle Recordkeeping
Boarder closure, heifer retention, antimicrobial use and resistance, and fenceline weaning from Ranching.com by CattleMax.
Ranching.com is your weekly dose of trending news, seasonal tips, and community content put together by our team of ranchers.
IN THE NEWS
Getty Images - Ag Proud
📊 The Importance of Cattle Recordkeeping - As herd size increases, organized recordkeeping becomes essential. Terrell Miller explains how starting with a basic inventory, tracking events in real time, reviewing key metrics, and involving others in the process can support better management. Whether you’re expanding through added acreage or retaining heifers, solid records help keep growth on track.
💉 BVDV Risk & Impact - BVDV is a costly, often overlooked threat to herd health, with losses ranging from $15 to $88 per head. Though most infections show no signs, PI cattle can quietly undermine herd performance and reproduction. Early testing, effective vaccination, and strong biosecurity are key to reducing the impact on your operation.
🪱 Border Closure: Screwworm Threat - USDA has suspended live animal imports from Mexico due to the spread of New World screwworm. Despite economic concerns, the move is widely supported to protect the U.S. herd. As containment falters in Mexico, the U.S. is advocating for increased production of sterile flies—the only effective eradication method.
📈 Heifer Retention Rising - Improved pasture and water conditions across the Southern Plains are prompting more talk of heifer retention. While the pace is slower than the last herd expansion, both impulse breeding and increased heifer calf retention could reduce feeder supplies and mark the start of modest herd rebuilding.
💰 Preconditioning Pays - New data shows calves on a VAC45 preconditioning program can bring in $48 more per head — and implants add another $66, totaling up to $115 in added value. Traits like uniform weight, no horns, and value-added program enrollment can also boost returns. Strategic health and management decisions pay off at the sale barn.
VIDEOS FROM AROUND THE WEB
RANCHING KNOW-HOW
Neogen - Drovers
Flies and ticks may seem like minor annoyances, but they cost U.S. cattle producers up to $6 billion annually in lost weight gain, milk production, and increased vet and control costs. Horn flies alone can reduce productivity, spread disease, and increase the risk of mastitis and pinkeye. Experts recommend an integrated pest management approach—using pour-ons, IGRs, dust bags, and back rubbers—to reduce fly populations and protect herd health and profitability.
Beef Magazine
Fenceline weaning, where calves and cows remain in sight of each other across a secure fence for 7–14 days, has been shown to reduce stress, sickness, and improve weight gain in calves postweaning. Research indicates fenceline-weaned calves gain nearly twice as much weight in the first two weeks and experience lower rates of respiratory illness compared to totally separated calves. Proper fencing, pasture prep, and acclimation are key to success with this method
RANCHING AROUND THE WORLD RECAP
Canadian Cattle Industry Faces Optimism Amid Trade War Concerns [Steinbachonline.com]
CATTLE COMMUNITY
@jbbalhereford1 #jbbalhereford #blessed #Idaho #farming
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“Always drink upstream from the herd.”
— Will Rogers
READER POLL
What’s your biggest challenge when it comes to recordkeeping during herd growth?Vote and let us know in the comments what’s worked, or hasn’t, for you when expanding your herd. |
LAST WEEK’S RESULTS
With rising replacement costs, how are you approaching herd expansion in 2025? | 11.69%: Holding off - prices are too high 74.03%: Retaining more for our own herd 6.49%: Buying more despite the cost 7.79%: Running numbers before deciding |
THOUGHTS FROM VOTERS
Retaining more for our own herd
“We have come to the conclusion that it is more beneficial for us to raise our own replacements. If not we lose a lot of the genetics we have been breeding for for the past 40 years. But also, we just know in every way what we’re getting in every department. We are also able to handle and gentle them to suit our situation which helps so much even if there is one a bit saucy in the batch. Otherwise a perfectly good heifer gets culled. We’re like everybody else, getting old and slow, and they’re so much easier to work with when they calve or go thru the chute!!!! It’s the perfect solution for us. ”
“Continuing with keeping our own replacement Heifers especially with the high price of cows. Great time to replace the older cows.”
“pick heifers from dams that consistently calve during the 1st 21 days of the breeding season, who have successfully calved during their sophomore calving and who consistently wean at least a 500lb calf”
